Descending Road - THE OFFER by Dana W. Paxson

THE OFFER

1561 4D

Twenty days later, a fastcar topped the rise of Andrew‘s farm road and approached the house. Andrew came out to greet the unexpected visitors, a pair of women in blue and gray corporate uniforms. Andrew recognized the ArCorp blazon on the front of each left shoulder. “Han, folks. Coming over to visit your neighbor?” He had seen the ArCorp mine buildings far above the farm.

“Han,” both women responded, climbing out of the fastcar. It was an expensive model, and looked new. These vehicles used ground effects and low-emission turbines to get their speed; very few were licensed. Andrew had never seen one until he had arrived up at his new farm.

“We’re from the Land Resources Division of ArCorp.” one of the women asked him. She was slim, muscular, dark; her expression stayed neutral. “Your name is Andrew Luce?”

“Yes. This is my farm.”

She introduced herself and her partner. “We are here to offer to buy your farm for one hundred thousand coin. The offer is unencumbered, and will last for the next forty days.”

“You want to buy our house and land?”

“And the barn and animals and the crops. The whole package.”

Leil came out and down the steps to stand by Andrew. He repeated the words to her. “Leil, do you believe this?”

She looked levelly at the two women. “We just moved out here. It took us years to find and buy this property. We’d have to start again to find another place, so what would we do in the meantime?”

The spokesperson shrugged. “It’s a hundred thousand. That should put you all up at an inn for a year, and leave more than enough for another good place. Do you wish to make a counter-offer?”

Andrew and Leil exchanged looks. “This is where we want to be,” he finally said.

“We’ll double the offer,” the spokesperson said.

“Why do you want this place?” Leil asked her.

The woman gestured up at the mine buildings away above the farm. “This area is part of a planned expansion for ArCorp. We need the additional space.”

“Can’t you expand elsewhere?” Leil pursued. “We’re not going to move.”

Andrew nodded. “Thank you for the generous offer, but we have worked too hard and long to start over. Please tell your employer that the answer is no.”

“As I said, the offer will stand for forty days,” the woman said, as she and her partner returned to their fastcar. “Please consider it carefully. We’ll be back twice, after twenty days and after forty days. If you want to comm us, it’s Arcorp LRD Wandaji.” She slammed the hatchdoor.

As the fastcar pivoted on a dust cloud and headed away, Leil said, “Never a smile, never a frown from either of them. This is going to be hard.”

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	THE OFFER 1561 4D Twenty days later, a fastcar topped the rise of Andrew‘s farm road and approached the house. Andrew came out to greet the unexpected visitors, a pair of women in blue and gray corporate uniforms. Andrew recognized the ArCorp blazon on the front of each left shoulder. “Han, folks. Coming over to visit your neighbor?” He had seen the ArCorp mine buildings far above the farm. “Han,” both women responded, climbing out of the fastcar. It was an expensive model, and looked new. These vehicles used ground effects and low-emission turbines to get their speed; very few were licensed. Andrew had never seen one until he had arrived up at his new farm. “We’re from the Land Resources Division of ArCorp.” one of the women asked him. She was slim, muscular, dark; her expression stayed neutral. “Your name is Andrew Luce?” “Yes. This is my farm.” She introduced herself and her partner. “We are here to offer to buy your farm for one hundred thousand coin. The offer is unencumbered, and will last for the next forty days.” “You want to buy our house and land?” “And the barn and animals and the crops. The whole package.” Leil came out and down the steps to stand by Andrew. He repeated the words to her. “Leil, do you believe this?” She looked levelly at the two women. “We just moved out here. It took us years to find and buy this property. We’d have to start again to find another place, so what would we do in the meantime?” The spokesperson shrugged. “It’s a hundred thousand. That should put you all up at an inn for a year, and leave more than enough for another good place. Do you wish to make a counter-offer?” Andrew and Leil exchanged looks. “This is where we want to be,” he finally said. “We’ll double the offer,” the spokesperson said. “Why do you want this place?” Leil asked her. The woman gestured up at the mine buildings away above the farm. “This area is part of a planned expansion for ArCorp. We need the additional space.” “Can’t you expand elsewhere?” Leil pursued. “We’re not going to move.” Andrew nodded. “Thank you for the generous offer, but we have worked too hard and long to start over. Please tell your employer that the answer is no.” “As I said, the offer will stand for forty days,” the woman said, as she and her partner returned to their fastcar. “Please consider it carefully. We’ll be back twice, after twenty days and after forty days. If you want to comm us, it’s Arcorp LRD Wandaji.” She slammed the hatchdoor. As the fastcar pivoted on a dust cloud and headed away, Leil said, “Never a smile, never a frown from either of them. This is going to be hard.”